MEET OUR 26-28 ROO RESIDENT
MEET OUR 26-28 ROO RESIDENT
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We are thrilled to announce that acclaimed Broadway playwright Sandy Rustin has been selected as the 2026 ROO Resident.
We are thrilled to announce that acclaimed Broadway playwright Sandy Rustin has been selected as the 2026 ROO Resident.
This announcement coincides with Women’s History Month and the anniversary of a watershed moment in feminist history: the 1970 Ladies’ Home Journal Sit-In. During her two-year residency, Rustin will develop a new farce centered on this radical act of defiance, bringing the high-stakes, 11-hour takeover of the magazine’s editorial offices to life for modern audiences.
The Project: A Revolutionary Reclamation
The Project: A Revolutionary Reclamation
In March of 1970, a coalition of nearly 200 women from Media Women, New York Radical Feminists, the National Organization of Women (NOW), the Redstockings, and Barnard College Students staged a tactical occupation of the Ladies’ Home Journal offices. Protesters targeted the magazine because, though it was the most widely read publication for women, with a readership of over 14 million diverse women, it was owned, run, and written almost entirely by white men.
Armed with insider information from a former employee, the leaders entered the building at 9:00 AM and marched directly to the office of Editor-in-Chief John Mack Carter.
The group’s ‘radical’ demands included:
Hiring a female Editor-in-Chief and an all-female editorial staff.
Hiring non-white staff in proportion to the U.S. population.
Raising women’s salaries to a minimum of $125 per week.
Providing free, on-site childcare.
Opening editorial meetings to all staff to dismantle traditional power hierarchies.
Ending the "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" column and all ads that degraded women.
The tension of the standoff peaked when one of the protestors, a feminist experienced in jiu jitsu, physically attacked Carter, leading finally to the negotiation they’d been demanding.
As the 2026 Resident, Rustin will receive:
$5,000 to support her creative process.
Invitation to Bechdel Project’s annual 3rd Bohemia Artist Retreat.
Dedicated studio space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Opportunities for writing retreats in both Brooklyn and Germany.
Curated dramaturgical mentorship and developmental workshops.
An opportunity to present a public reading of the work at the conclusion of the residency.
About Sandy Rustin
About Sandy Rustin
Sandy Rustin is an actress and award-winning playwright. She made her Broadway playwriting debut with the hit farce The Cottage and is the author of the sensationally popular stage adaptation of Clue. Her work, including the award-winning The Suffragette’s Murder, blends sharp comedy with urgent historical themes. Learn more at SandyRustin.com.
Nikki Brake-Sillá - 2024 ROO
Nikki Brake-Sillá - 2024 ROO
"Bechdel Project is not just my artistic home — it's the place I come to when I miss home. They have supported me, guided me through doubt, and celebrated me. Through the ROO Residency, I have grown immensely — not only as an artist, but also as a person, a mother, and someone who often feels unseen in this world. Bechdel sees me. I am honored to be in their orbit."
Photo cred Reginald Cunningham
Jeanne Dorsey - 2022 ROO
Jeanne Dorsey - 2022 ROO
“At every turn, the Bechdel Project has demonstrated their steadfast belief in the play, the importance of its subject matter, and confidence in me as an artist. As a result, I have achieved my strongest and most relevant work to date. This wouldn’t have been possible without the ROO Residency.”
“At every turn, the Bechdel Project has demonstrated their steadfast belief in the play, the importance of its subject matter, and confidence in me as an artist. As a result, I have achieved my strongest and most relevant work to date. This wouldn’t have been possible without the ROO Residency.”
More about the ROO Residency
More about the ROO Residency
In "A Room of One's Own," written in 1929, Virginia Woolf says, “fictitious women are too simple — contrary to the living, breathing, complex women of real life, (they) are almost always depicted only “in their relation to men.” With the ROO Residency, Bechdel Project hopes to take one more step toward creating a culture of stories with complex women who are not simply depicted in relation to men.
The ROO Residency is a two-year residency that supports the creation of a new work for the stage or screen. Projects must center women, and highlight untold, or underrepresented, narratives and perspectives.
For more details about what the ROO provides, eligibility, and application timeline, click the Preview Application button above.
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